story idea
I got an unusual story idea while riding home from the bus the other day. I realized that when I write stories, the good ones (coincidentally, also the ones I actually finish) come from having a message or theme, and the story growing from that. like "death of a mockingbird" was conveying the concept of living for someone being greater than dying for someone (in the case of that person dying). "the meadow behind of the mere" was an allegory, as was "nightengale." "sacrificial lamb" was about true courage under intense persecution. "the water" is a grueling test of description and suspense.
anyway, I came up with another theme. virginity. yep. I'm going to write "the virginity story." it's really not as dumb as it sounds. here's the intro, which will probably be a bit hackneyed because I've never written a really good intro; I just need to get them out of the way so I use up the requisite crap amount before I start the actual story.
Virgin. The word may conjure images of awkward, gangly girls with braces, or bleary-eyed teenage Dungeons and Dragons players who live in their parents' basements. I'm a Catholic, so when I think of virgins, I think of slender, young girls with rose-leaf complexions, dressed in long, flowing dresses, heads covered in veils, looking demurely down at a flower or a cute little animal. The thing is, virgins are just like everyone else, for the most part. They don't glow like a nightlight, and plants don't spring up behind them when they walk somewhere. They have many of the same complications, struggles, and successes as other people. They're not a special breed. I should know. I am one.
so there's this girl, and she's a virgin. through high school, she stayed a virgin because it was the status quo for her life and she never entertained the thought of giving up her virginity. she had a boyfriend in high school who was also a virgin, so he didn't put pressure on her to have sex. after high school, they went their separate ways, but kept in touch sporadically. through her first year of college, she was too busy to actively seek a boyfriend, though most of her close friends were male, and the guys who hit on her in a sexual manner she considered inappropriately crude. so far, keeping her virginity had never been a problem.
the story takes place during the summer between her first and second years of college, when she's still living on campus, trying to find a job, and wondering what to do with herself till school starts, since most of her friends moved out for vacation. natch, she meets a guy. long story short, he falls for her hard, and she's crazy about him. eventually, through a lot of internal wrangling and discussions with her old girl friends, she decides that she is going to give up her virginity to him. she makes elaborate plans for a romantic date at her apartment-style dorm, and she lays out strategies for how she is going to basically seduce him. in her head, she's built it into this meaningful, epitomal experience in which she will give her most valuable asset to him to show her dedication, love, and willingness to (literally) give of herself.
well, things don't go quite the way she planned. the whole night, he neatly sidesteps all her too-amorous overtures. by the time she is standing before him, trembling in nothing but a white sheet draped around herself, he matter-of-factly bundles her up in a heavy blanket and lays her down on her bed, sitting on the blanket in a way which prevents her from moving and unwrapping herself. she, very much confused and ticked, decries his actions and defends herself by saying she wanted to give him her most prized possession as a noble gift. he tells her that if she really thougt of her virginity as her most prized possession, she wouldn't give it away as easily as she was about to do. he goes on to say that he isn't a virgin; he actually lost his virginity at a young age with a girl who was also a virgin. he describes how the regret from losing something he hadn't properly understood and appreciated at the time was compounded by knowing that he also took away the virginity of a girl who agreed simply because he wanted it. (hopefully this part won't turn into a sappy lecture/misty image montage type thing.) he then offers to clean up, do the dishes, and then leave if she will think about what he has told her. she is left lying in her room, listening to him work and then close the door behind himself, brooding over what she had nearly done, and slowly gaining a new appreciation for what she has, what he did, and what didn't happen.
this episode pretty much cements their relationship. she'll have a lot of narrative commentary on how this both alters and reinforces her convictions and beliefs, eventually leading her to a renewal of the Catholicism she had essentially left behind in junior high. things are going great, until early second semester sophomore year: she attends a small, low-key party hosted by the guy she's with. she is the last person to leave, at a little after midnight. she is still in a happy, bright mood walking through the snow to her dorm from his off-campus apartment, reveling in the crunch of the light layer of snow beneath her feet and the crystalline brilliance of the stars in the night sky. while she walks by a car parked on the side of the road, someone opens the door, pulls her in, and rapes her. she identifies him as a good friend of her boyfriend. when she manages to make it to her dorm room, she calls up her old boyfriend because (man I need a name for this guy... for summary purposes we'll call him Greg) Greg is already asleep and isn't answering his phone. naturally, old boyfriend gets very upset and drives all night, morning, and afternoon to get to her place in the evening. meanwhile, she showers obsessively and cries at random. she disconnects her phone and keeps her blinds down, trying to form a protective cocoon around herself. she's irrationally angry at Greg, because she thinks he should have walked her home, or answered his phone, or come over, or something. she also harbors tremendous self-loathing and despair. old boyfriend comes and comforts her as best he can, which is pretty good. he promises to protect her forever and tells her that he will take her away to somewhere safe, and that he still loves her. she clings to him and agrees with his every word. but late that night, when they finally start getting tired and she starts to make up a place for him to sleep, he says that since she's already been raped anyway, she should be willing to sleep with him now. she is taken aback, and is torn between being very afraid and very angry that he could even suggest such a thing after what she had just gone through. he presses his point, his words still being very persuasive and gentle, but his body language shifting to express power and domination. she manages to send a desparate text message to Greg, who comes immediately. during his brief travel time, though, she asks old boyfriend if he is still a virgin, and he says yes. he goes on to talk about how he will take away her pain and horrible memories by being gentle and kind with her, and how he is willing to give up his virginity to help her heal. she shakes her head and tells him what she learned in the time after Greg's initial speech to her. he doesn't listen and tries to press his advantage, but then Greg comes in and pulls him off her. old boyfriend throws out the accusation that neither of them are virgins, so who are they to tell him what to do with his virginity. Greg says that some people make mistakes so that other people might learn from them. she says that even though she was raped, she's still going to live as a virgin. old boyfriend leaves confused, but in a way that means the things they said to him are making him think very hard about himself.
I'm not sure I know how I want to end it. I could just leave it there, with the boyfriend leaving with all kinds of new thoughts in his head. I could have Greg being proud of her and him proposing to her because he had been planning on doing it that day anyway, happily ever after. or I could end it with her telling Greg that she wants to become a nun and keep perpetual virginity. they all have their pros and cons.
so... if I made this into a book, who would read it (or recommend it to someone else) ?
=^.^=
anyway, I came up with another theme. virginity. yep. I'm going to write "the virginity story." it's really not as dumb as it sounds. here's the intro, which will probably be a bit hackneyed because I've never written a really good intro; I just need to get them out of the way so I use up the requisite crap amount before I start the actual story.
Virgin. The word may conjure images of awkward, gangly girls with braces, or bleary-eyed teenage Dungeons and Dragons players who live in their parents' basements. I'm a Catholic, so when I think of virgins, I think of slender, young girls with rose-leaf complexions, dressed in long, flowing dresses, heads covered in veils, looking demurely down at a flower or a cute little animal. The thing is, virgins are just like everyone else, for the most part. They don't glow like a nightlight, and plants don't spring up behind them when they walk somewhere. They have many of the same complications, struggles, and successes as other people. They're not a special breed. I should know. I am one.
so there's this girl, and she's a virgin. through high school, she stayed a virgin because it was the status quo for her life and she never entertained the thought of giving up her virginity. she had a boyfriend in high school who was also a virgin, so he didn't put pressure on her to have sex. after high school, they went their separate ways, but kept in touch sporadically. through her first year of college, she was too busy to actively seek a boyfriend, though most of her close friends were male, and the guys who hit on her in a sexual manner she considered inappropriately crude. so far, keeping her virginity had never been a problem.
the story takes place during the summer between her first and second years of college, when she's still living on campus, trying to find a job, and wondering what to do with herself till school starts, since most of her friends moved out for vacation. natch, she meets a guy. long story short, he falls for her hard, and she's crazy about him. eventually, through a lot of internal wrangling and discussions with her old girl friends, she decides that she is going to give up her virginity to him. she makes elaborate plans for a romantic date at her apartment-style dorm, and she lays out strategies for how she is going to basically seduce him. in her head, she's built it into this meaningful, epitomal experience in which she will give her most valuable asset to him to show her dedication, love, and willingness to (literally) give of herself.
well, things don't go quite the way she planned. the whole night, he neatly sidesteps all her too-amorous overtures. by the time she is standing before him, trembling in nothing but a white sheet draped around herself, he matter-of-factly bundles her up in a heavy blanket and lays her down on her bed, sitting on the blanket in a way which prevents her from moving and unwrapping herself. she, very much confused and ticked, decries his actions and defends herself by saying she wanted to give him her most prized possession as a noble gift. he tells her that if she really thougt of her virginity as her most prized possession, she wouldn't give it away as easily as she was about to do. he goes on to say that he isn't a virgin; he actually lost his virginity at a young age with a girl who was also a virgin. he describes how the regret from losing something he hadn't properly understood and appreciated at the time was compounded by knowing that he also took away the virginity of a girl who agreed simply because he wanted it. (hopefully this part won't turn into a sappy lecture/misty image montage type thing.) he then offers to clean up, do the dishes, and then leave if she will think about what he has told her. she is left lying in her room, listening to him work and then close the door behind himself, brooding over what she had nearly done, and slowly gaining a new appreciation for what she has, what he did, and what didn't happen.
this episode pretty much cements their relationship. she'll have a lot of narrative commentary on how this both alters and reinforces her convictions and beliefs, eventually leading her to a renewal of the Catholicism she had essentially left behind in junior high. things are going great, until early second semester sophomore year: she attends a small, low-key party hosted by the guy she's with. she is the last person to leave, at a little after midnight. she is still in a happy, bright mood walking through the snow to her dorm from his off-campus apartment, reveling in the crunch of the light layer of snow beneath her feet and the crystalline brilliance of the stars in the night sky. while she walks by a car parked on the side of the road, someone opens the door, pulls her in, and rapes her. she identifies him as a good friend of her boyfriend. when she manages to make it to her dorm room, she calls up her old boyfriend because (man I need a name for this guy... for summary purposes we'll call him Greg) Greg is already asleep and isn't answering his phone. naturally, old boyfriend gets very upset and drives all night, morning, and afternoon to get to her place in the evening. meanwhile, she showers obsessively and cries at random. she disconnects her phone and keeps her blinds down, trying to form a protective cocoon around herself. she's irrationally angry at Greg, because she thinks he should have walked her home, or answered his phone, or come over, or something. she also harbors tremendous self-loathing and despair. old boyfriend comes and comforts her as best he can, which is pretty good. he promises to protect her forever and tells her that he will take her away to somewhere safe, and that he still loves her. she clings to him and agrees with his every word. but late that night, when they finally start getting tired and she starts to make up a place for him to sleep, he says that since she's already been raped anyway, she should be willing to sleep with him now. she is taken aback, and is torn between being very afraid and very angry that he could even suggest such a thing after what she had just gone through. he presses his point, his words still being very persuasive and gentle, but his body language shifting to express power and domination. she manages to send a desparate text message to Greg, who comes immediately. during his brief travel time, though, she asks old boyfriend if he is still a virgin, and he says yes. he goes on to talk about how he will take away her pain and horrible memories by being gentle and kind with her, and how he is willing to give up his virginity to help her heal. she shakes her head and tells him what she learned in the time after Greg's initial speech to her. he doesn't listen and tries to press his advantage, but then Greg comes in and pulls him off her. old boyfriend throws out the accusation that neither of them are virgins, so who are they to tell him what to do with his virginity. Greg says that some people make mistakes so that other people might learn from them. she says that even though she was raped, she's still going to live as a virgin. old boyfriend leaves confused, but in a way that means the things they said to him are making him think very hard about himself.
I'm not sure I know how I want to end it. I could just leave it there, with the boyfriend leaving with all kinds of new thoughts in his head. I could have Greg being proud of her and him proposing to her because he had been planning on doing it that day anyway, happily ever after. or I could end it with her telling Greg that she wants to become a nun and keep perpetual virginity. they all have their pros and cons.
so... if I made this into a book, who would read it (or recommend it to someone else) ?
=^.^=